House Republicans Introduce Financial Aid Offer Legislation
Jill Desjean
December 6, 2022
In response to the Government Accountability Office’s report examining institutional aid offer practices, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), ranking member of the House Education and Labor Committee, and Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) on Monday introduced the College Cost Transparency and Student Protection Act, which would set new requirements for financial aid offers.
The bill would require standardized terms and definitions, content, and formatting, but does not go so far as to establish an aid offer template, as other proposals have done. The proposed legislation, in fact, prohibits the establishment of a template.
It does, however, make significant changes to the way financial aid eligibility is currently communicated to applicants, turning the aid offer into a two-step process by which students are first offered aid only for their direct educational expenses. Students would then opt in to requesting aid for indirect expenses, after which a more customized aid offer with their estimated indirect expenses and aid eligibility is issued.
